Forex and brokerage licence in Georgia
Forex and brokerage licence in Georgia: what the National Bank authorises, and what it does not
Georgian law has no instrument called a forex licence. What exists is authorisation as a brokerage company under the securities market regime, supervised by the National Bank of Georgia, and depending on how your product moves client money a payment or virtual asset regime may apply alongside it or instead of it. The first piece of work is naming the regime correctly, because a file built for the wrong one is money spent twice.
This route fits you if
- You deal in financial instruments, or execute client orders in them, and you want a supervised home with a regulator that answers correspondence.
- You are prepared for capital, governance, client-asset and conduct requirements that apply continuously and not only at authorisation.
- Your owners and key function holders can pass a fit-and-proper assessment and will put their evidence on the table early.
- You want the client money question answered properly: segregation, reconciliation, and what happens to client positions if the firm fails.
- You would rather be told that the distribution plan is the real problem than discover it after the licence is granted.
Take another route if
- You want an offshore label with no capital, no officers in Georgia and no supervision. That is not what this regime is. See the categories
- Your product is really a payment or e-money business moving client fiat. Different National Bank regime, different file. Payment services
- You exchange or transfer virtual assets for clients. That is the virtual asset service provider regime. VASP registration
- You intend to solicit residents of a country that requires its own authorisation for that. A Georgian licence does not solve it, and no licence anywhere does.
How it is priced
What a brokerage file costs, and why no number appears above
Capital, the regulator's charges and the conditions attached to an authorisation are set per activity and change. A number published here and wrong at filing costs you more than one more paragraph of reading.
| Regime opinionWhich authorisation your product needs, under which law, and whether a payment or virtual asset regime applies alongside it. Written, quoted in advance and credited against the authorisation engagement. | Fixed fee |
| Authorisation file and filingCorporate structure, capital plan, governance and internal controls, client-asset arrangements, conduct and complaints procedures, the AML programme, the application and the correspondence to decision. | In the proposal |
| Capital and National Bank chargesThe minimum capital condition and the regulator's own fees are set by the National Bank for the activity applied for. The proposal states them as they stand on the day it is issued, and charges are passed through at cost. | Set by the regulator |
| Georgian company, address and tax registrationFormation from €400, registered address from €120 a year, priced from the published list rather than folded into the licensing file. | From the price list |
| AML programme and independent reviewRisk assessment, due diligence and monitoring written for how the firm actually operates, plus the periodic independent review supervisors expect. | In the proposal |
| Regulatory retainer after authorisationPrudential and conduct reporting, policy upkeep, and changes of ownership, officers and products notified on time. | Monthly |
No capital figure, licence fee or decision date is quoted on this page on purpose. The scoping review ends with a written proposal that states the regime, the file, a realistic timeline and every fee in force when it is issued; the professional fee is fixed once the engagement letter is signed, and government and third-party charges are passed through at cost. Formation and address prices come from the Trustlex price list of 2026-10-14.1.
The route to the authorisation
- 1
Name the regime before anything is built
Instruments, execution model, who holds client funds, how the firm earns. From that we say in writing whether you are a brokerage company under the securities market regime, a payment institution, a virtual asset service provider, or a combination, and what changes if the model changes.
- 2
Scoping proposal
The authorisation, the file the National Bank will expect, the capital condition in force, a realistic timeline in months, and the split between professional, government and third-party costs. If the honest answer is that Georgia does not fit, the proposal says so.
- 3
Structure, capital and the people
The Georgian entity, ownership transparent up to identifiable beneficial owners, the capital plan with the source of funds evidenced, and fit-and-proper material for directors and key function holders gathered before the regulator asks.
- 4
Governance, client assets and conduct
Internal controls, risk management, business continuity and outsourcing described rather than asserted; client money and client asset arrangements with segregation and reconciliation that can be demonstrated; order handling, pricing, disclosure and complaints procedures that a supervisor can test.
- 5
AML programme and technology
A risk-based programme written for how the firm actually operates, sanctions and monitoring, and a description of the trading and reporting systems, including anything outsourced and the contract behind it.
- 6
Filing, questions and life after the licence
The application is filed and defended through the National Bank's questions. Once granted, the obligations start rather than stop: periodic reporting, notifications of change, and a conduct record that is inspected. We stay on a retainer or hand the calendar to your team.
What the file needs from you
- A written description of the product: instruments, execution model, counterparties, leverage if any, and how the firm earns
- The client money and client asset model: where funds sit, how they are segregated and reconciled, and who can move them
- Ownership up to identifiable beneficial owners, with evidence for each layer
- Passports, CVs, clean-record and experience evidence for owners, directors and key function holders
- A capital plan and the source of the capital, evidenced rather than asserted
- Governance documents: internal controls, risk management, business continuity, outsourcing and conflicts of interest
- The markets you intend to serve, and how you will handle jurisdictions that require their own authorisation
Where the model is an offshore brand looking for a label, the file will not survive the fit-and-proper stage. We say that at the scoping call rather than after the invoice.
Questions brokers ask first
Is there a forex licence in Georgia?
Not under that name. A firm dealing in financial instruments or executing client orders in them is authorised as a brokerage company under the securities market regime and supervised by the National Bank of Georgia. Whether your particular model falls in that regime, in payment services, or in the virtual asset regime is the first question we answer in writing, because the file differs in each case.
What capital will we need?
The minimum capital condition is set by the National Bank for the activity applied for, and it changes. We do not publish a figure, because a wrong figure is the most expensive thing a page like this can carry. The scoping proposal states the requirement in force when it is issued and the evidence the regulator expects behind it.
How long does authorisation take?
Months, and the pace is set by the quality of the file rather than by form-filling. Capital evidence, fit-and-proper material and a governance framework that is described rather than asserted are what move it. We do not put a date on a decision that belongs to the regulator.
Can we take clients from anywhere once we hold it?
No. The licence authorises the activity under Georgian law and gives you a supervised home. Market access is decided where the client is: a country that requires its own authorisation for soliciting its residents is not satisfied by a Georgian one. We say this before any distribution plan is built on it.
Do you take on retail leveraged and CFD models?
Only after an honest look at the conduct and client-money side. Retail leveraged trading attracts supervisory attention everywhere, and a firm that cannot explain its execution, its pricing and its complaints handling is not ready to apply.
Is a Georgian bank account part of it?
It is a separate underwriting, and for financial firms it is often the slower half. Banks run their own file on the model, the markets and the officers. We test it early rather than assume it, and no provider can guarantee an account.
Can you guarantee the licence?
No. The decision is the National Bank's, and an adviser who guarantees it is telling you something untrue at the first meeting. We will tell you whether the file is realistic before you pay for it.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Fees reflect the Trustlex price list of 2026-10-14.1; rates, thresholds and registry practice reflect September 2026 and change. The route for your case is confirmed by a lawyer at review.
Read before you start
Name the regime before you build
Describe the model in a few lines and book a scoping call. You will leave knowing which authorisation applies, or that Georgia is the wrong home for it.